Commercial lease guides

• The ban on upward-only rent reviews: what it means for your lease

  Upward-only rent reviews in business leases will be banned in England and Wales. What the law does, when it starts and what to check before you sign.

• Commercial lease red flags: what to check before you sign

  The commercial lease terms most likely to cost tenants in England and Wales: break conditions, repair, rent review, guarantees, service charge and more.

• Break clauses in a commercial lease: how to negotiate one and use it

  How break clauses in business leases work in England and Wales: conditions, vacant possession, notice deadlines and what to negotiate before you sign.

• Rent review clauses: open market, index-linked, fixed and upward-only

  How rent reviews in business leases work in England and Wales: open market, RPI and CPI, fixed increases, upward-only reviews and review timing.

• Schedules of condition: what they are and why tenants need one

  What a schedule of condition is, why tenants of business premises in England and Wales want one, what photos to take and how to tie it into the lease.

• Personal guarantees, rent deposits and AGAs on a business lease

  How personal guarantees, rent deposits and authorised guarantee agreements work on business leases in England and Wales, and how to limit your risk.

• How to get out of a commercial lease early: break, surrender, assignment or subletting

  The four main ways out of a business lease in England and Wales: using a break clause, surrender, assignment and subletting, with what each costs you.

• Dilapidations: what a landlord can claim when your lease ends

  How end-of-lease dilapidations claims work in England and Wales: the Dilapidations Protocol, the section 18(1) cap on damages and how to cut the bill.

• When businesses often go without a solicitor for a lease, and what to check yourself

  Short licences, serviced offices and low-rent lets in England and Wales: when tenants often skip a full lease review, and the checks to do yourself.

• Freehold vs leasehold homes: ownership, ground rent, service charges and lease length

  Freehold vs leasehold homes in England and Wales: ownership, ground rent, service charges, lease length, mortgages, and extending or buying the freehold.

• Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 Part 2: security of tenure for business tenants explained

  How Part 2 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 protects business tenants in England and Wales: who is covered, continuation, contracting out and grounds.

• A landlord’s section 25 notice: the 6–12 month window, hostile or not, and your court deadline

  A landlord’s section 25 notice for a business tenant in England and Wales: the 6–12 month window, hostile or non-hostile notices and the court deadline.

• Section 26 request: how a tenant asks for a new business tenancy

  How a tenant’s section 26 request works under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954: who can serve one, the 6 to 12 month window and the deadlines.

• Lease extension costs for a flat: the premium, fees and what is not yet in force

  What a flat lease extension costs in England and Wales: the statutory route, the valuer and solicitor fees firms publish, and what is not yet in force.

• Transfer of equity: what it costs to add or remove a name on a home

  What it costs to add or remove a name from a home’s title in England and Wales: the Land Registry fee, stamp duty and firms’ published fixed fees.

• Licensed conveyancer or solicitor: who regulates each, what they can do, and how to check

  Licensed conveyancer or solicitor in England and Wales: who regulates each, what they can do, their insurance, and how to check the SRA or CLC register.

• The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 in England: what changed on 1 May 2026, and what is still to come

  What the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 changed for private-sector assured tenancies in England from 1 May 2026: section 21, tenancies, rent and pets. Wales has its own law.

• The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024: what has taken effect, and what has not yet

  What the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 has changed so far in England and Wales, with commencement dates, and what is still prospective.

• Heads of terms for a commercial lease: what they are, what they cover, and whether they bind

  Heads of terms for a commercial lease in England and Wales: the 16 items the RICS Code lists, why they are marked subject to contract, and when they bind.

• Authorised guarantee agreements: when a landlord can require one, what it covers, and when it ends

  When a landlord can require an authorised guarantee agreement under the 1995 Act, what it covers and limits, guarantor releases, and pre-1996 leases.

• Assigning a business lease: the landlord’s consent, the authorised guarantee agreement and SDLT

  How a tenant assigns a business lease in England and Wales: the landlord’s duty not to unreasonably withhold consent, agreed conditions, AGAs and SDLT.

• Subletting part or all of a business lease: consent, the lease terms and the 1954 Act

  Subletting a business lease in England and Wales: when the landlord’s consent is needed, what the RICS Code covers, and when a subtenant can contract out.

• Forfeiting a business lease: the right to re-enter, the section 146 notice and relief from forfeiture

  Forfeiture of a business lease in England and Wales: the right to re-enter, the section 146 notice for non-rent breaches, and relief from forfeiture.

• Service charges in a business lease: what the lease says and the RICS standard

  Business lease service charges in England and Wales: why the lease sets the terms, the RICS commercial standard from 31 December 2025, and mixed lettings.

• Extending your lease or buying the freehold: the two statutory routes for flat owners

  Flat owners in England and Wales: the statutory lease extension against collective enfranchisement, who qualifies, notices, marriage value and the 2024 Act.

• Renewing a business lease under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954: the steps, the deadlines and what a court can order

  How a business tenant renews a lease under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 in England and Wales: section 25 or 26, court deadlines and terms.

• Exchange of contracts and completion: when you are bound, and the SDLT and LTT effective date

  Exchange and completion for a home in England and Wales: when the contract binds, the SDLT or LTT effective date and the AP1 priority period.

• Licence to alter: making alterations to a business lease, the reasonableness test, reinstatement and approvals

  Licence to alter a business lease in England and Wales: consent under the 1927 Act, reinstatement and building and planning approvals.

• Conveyancing searches explained: the LLC1, the CON29 and the other searches a purchase may need

  What the LLC1 and CON29 local authority searches cover, plus drainage and water, flood, coal mining and chancel repair checks, for a home purchase.

• Buying a new-build home: reservation, the warranty, snagging and the New Homes Quality Code

  Buying a new build in England and Wales: reservation agreements, the warranty, snagging and the Ombudsman under the New Homes Quality Code.